Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Home?

Amidst the wind and snow, Xu Qing returned to the courtyard; before he could even enter, he heard the happy laughter of the Thunder Team inside.

Accompanied by bursts of dog barking, Xu Qing pushed open the gate and saw over a dozen wild dogs in the courtyard.

They lay there, looking coldly at Xu Qing. Xu Qing also swept his gaze over them; he did not release any sharp aura, but with just that one sweep, the dozen or so wild dogs bristled and slowly retreated.

A soft sound of surprise came from the Thunder Team's room.

As the door opened, Shizi and Luanya walked out. They looked at Xu Qing, then at the dozen wild dogs, and Shizi smiled slightly.

"Little one, they say you have a very heavy baleful aura," Luanya said, crouching down to gently stroke the head of a wild dog beside her, smiling at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing did not speak, looking at the Thunder Team leader who was now walking out of the room.

The Thunder Team leader was wearing a thick fur coat and holding a tobacco pouch. As he walked out, he pointed at Luanya and said with some helplessness.

"This girl Luanya, she thinks I'm injured and worries about my safety in the camp, so she insisted on bringing these dozen wild dogs here to guard the house."

This sentence was very simple, but Xu Qing understood.

The Thunder Team leader had not told them about Xu Qing's affairs, just as Xu Qing had not spoken of the singing, leaving it to the Thunder Team leader to decide; the Thunder Team leader also left the right to disclose this matter to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing nodded, took out the leather bag containing the White Pills, and handed it to the Thunder Team leader.

The Thunder Team leader took it, glanced at it, smiled, and did not stand on ceremony.

"Alright, I do indeed need this stuff, but don't buy it in the future; I have plenty of savings here, enough to buy it myself." After saying this, he looked at Shizi.

"Shizi, the little one is back too; if you have anything to say, you can say it now."

Shizi put away his smile, his expression solemn, and spoke slowly.

"Coming here this time, there are two things."

"The first is the Captain's medicine; Luanya and I have already bought it, about a month's worth. As for the rest, we will go buy more when it's finished." As he spoke, Shizi untied a leather bag from his waist and placed it to the side.

"The second thing, because of the annihilation of the Blood Shadow team, although other scavengers also participated in the previous clover picking, none of them had as much as we did."

"Yesterday, I went with Luanya to the camp master to settle accounts and received the reward, but... the camp master habitually skimped, not giving three Dust-Clearing Pills, but only one," Shizi said, looking at Luanya.

Luanya took out four leather bags and placed them to the side, then took out a wooden box and opened it in front of everyone, revealing a cyan elixir the size of a pigeon egg inside.

A medicinal fragrance wafted out; clearly, this pill was far better than the White Pills.

"Mangui had no family, so I took the liberty of dividing his share. These four leather bags contain our respective spirit coins. As for this Dust-Clearing Pill..."

Shizi stopped here and looked at the Thunder Team leader, waiting for his distribution.

"Give it to the little one," the Thunder Team leader said calmly. At this moment, the aura of the Thunder Team leader seemed to have returned to him somewhat.

Shizi nodded, and Luanya, after a moment of surprise, also looked thoughtful. They had previously asked the Thunder Team leader what happened in the jungle, but he hadn't said; this distribution clearly provided the answer.

"As for Mangui... dividing it is right; we are his family."

The Thunder Team leader sighed softly and picked up his share; Shizi and Luanya each picked up theirs, and Xu Qing remained silent, picking up his leather bag as well.

Regarding the Dust-Clearing Pill that Luanya handed over, Xu Qing took it and glanced at the Thunder Team leader. The Thunder Team leader's eyes were somewhat stern, and this look made Xu Qing understand the meaning, so he silently put it away.

The four of them talked for a while longer, mainly the three of them, while Xu Qing was as taciturn as ever, listening quietly on the side.

But neither Shizi nor Luanya would ignore Xu Qing's presence, occasionally asking for his opinion.

Just like that, time passed, and soon noon arrived. As the wind and snow stopped temporarily, Shizi and Luanya chose to take their leave. Before leaving, Shizi spoke to Xu Qing in a low voice.

"Little one, Luanya and I have taken a mission and need to go out for a trip. During this time... the Captain is left to you." As he spoke, he took out a dagger and handed it to Xu Qing.

"Your dagger is covered in rust; change to this one, it's very sharp."

Luanya also handed Xu Qing a whistle.

"Little one, your combat power is very strong, but you need eyes and helpers, don't you? This whistle can simply control the wild dogs in the camp. If you need to, you can blow it; they are very smart and will know what to do."

The two gave some instructions, cupped their fists to Xu Qing, and left.

Watching their backs, Xu Qing put away the whistle and tucked the dagger given by Shizi into his boot, though he did not throw away his original one.

He then looked up, gazing at their figures until Shizi and Luanya disappeared at the end of his vision, then Xu Qing turned to look at the Thunder Team leader's room.

After a long while, he passed through the wild dogs and returned to his room.

He closed his eyes and sat cross-legged in meditation.

The wind outside was very strong, creating a wailing sound as it blew across the earth. The snow in the sky and the snow on the ground blended in mid-air, drilling through the gaps in the tents and houses, disturbing the people inside.

It also blew onto the Thunder Team leader resting in his room, but he was long used to it and paid no mind to the cold wind.

However, the image of Xu Qing hunching his body in the cold wind appeared in his mind, so he turned to look in the direction of Xu Qing's room, and after a long silence, he put on his fur hat and walked out of the room.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, three days went by.

During these three days, it was as if the snowflakes were exhausting their final strength, spreading their lingering cold, falling continuously. The snow on the ground did not have time to melt and accumulated into a thick layer.

Although the climate was harsh, for scavengers, survival was more important than the cold.

Thus, the camp gradually became crowded with people again; some continued to seek medical treatment, while others headed to the forbidden zone.

At the same time, the fact that the Blood Shadow team had not returned for a long time gradually sparked discussion among the scavengers. It was unknown where the rumor started, saying that the Blood Shadow team had been wiped out in the forbidden zone.

At first, not many people believed this rumor; after all, every member of the Blood Shadow team was not to be underestimated.

Especially the Blood Shadow captain, who was a powerhouse among the scavengers in the camp. Such a person had gone to the forbidden zone countless times, so the possibility of the entire team being wiped out was not high.

But as time passed, another two days went by, and there was no trace of the Blood Shadow people, which made the scavengers in the camp gradually believe the rumor.

And they also remembered the day the Thunder Team leader returned, and his unconscious state.

Linking it to Mangui's disappearance, everything seemed to have an answer.

And regardless of whether it was true or not, without Blood Shadow, the Thunder Team was now the strongest team in the camp.

So when Xu Qing went out these days, what he saw most were the awe-filled gazes from the surrounding scavengers.

He knew that these people were in awe of the Thunder Team, not himself, but he didn't care about this. What he was puzzled by these days was that the Thunder Team leader was leaving early and returning late, not knowing what he was busy with.

But Xu Qing knew that everyone was independent and there was no need to disturb them, and he himself had many things to do, so most of the time, Xu Qing was alone in his room, silently cultivating.

His cultivation base was also slowly improving with this effort, and his strength and speed were steadily increasing.

As for his own shadow, Xu Qing had also studied it many times.

But this shadow never had any changes, only its absorption of foreign substances remained as it was, causing the alienation points on Xu Qing's arm to have completely disappeared.

The purity within his body made Xu Qing clearly feel that his cultivation speed was much faster than before.

Until the afternoon two days later, while sitting cross-legged in meditation, preparing to stabilize his cultivation for a few more days before attempting to break through to the fourth level of the Sea Mountain Technique, he frowned slightly and opened his eyes.

The wild dogs outside were barking, and the bamboo door was being knocked.

Xu Qing walked out of the room and noticed that the Thunder Team leader was not there. He looked outside the bamboo door and saw a scavenger standing there with a hesitant expression.

Xu Qing had seen this person before; he was one of the seven or eight people he had saved when he returned from the forbidden zone previously.

Upon noticing Xu Qing's figure appear, the scavenger quickly cupped his fists.

"Brother Little One, it's me, I'm Bone Knife."

"What is it?" Xu Qing said expressionlessly and calmly.

"This..." Bone Knife hesitated, but after a brief thought, he gritted his teeth and spoke.

"Brother Little One, I want to use five White Pills to buy an insurance policy from you." As he spoke, he first threw a leather bag toward Xu Qing.

Xu Qing did not catch it and looked at Bone Knife in confusion. The leather bag thrown by the other party landed on the ground, and the wild dogs on the side all looked at it but dared not approach.

Sensing Xu Qing's confusion, Bone Knife outside the bamboo door hurriedly explained, and listening to his words, Xu Qing gradually understood the meaning of the so-called insurance.

According to Bone Knife's meaning, he wanted Xu Qing to go to the area of the Poison Dragon Pool in the forbidden zone and save him, just like last time, if he did not return within three days.

"Brother Little One, I don't worry about the exotic beasts in the forbidden zone; dying in their mouths is fate. What I worry about most is the fog; dying in the fog is too unwilling."

Xu Qing's expression was a bit strange; he didn't expect the other party to make such a request, so he thought for a moment and asked a question.

"What if there is no fog within three days, or you return early?"

"The elixirs don't need to be returned; I'm just buying peace of mind." Bone Knife bowed deeply to Xu Qing, his expression filled with pleading.

Xu Qing was silent, looked at the leather bag, picked it up with his toe, and opened it to look.

Inside were five White Pills. Although he didn't need them, they were hard currency in the camp, so after thinking about it, he felt that this matter was not unfeasible.

So after pondering, Xu Qing nodded.

Seeing that Xu Qing agreed, Bone Knife breathed a sigh of relief, cupped his fists in gratitude, and then left.

Xu Qing held the leather bag, his eyes narrowing. He was naturally vigilant and did not fully believe the other party's words.

However, he felt that the possibility of it being a trap was not high.

Because if the fog didn't rise, he could choose not to go, and if the other party could calculate the time of the fog three days in advance, they wouldn't need to calculate others like this.

But he still remained cautious and planned to make a decision when the time came.

So he turned and returned to his room, continued to meditate, and the night passed.

The next morning, Xu Qing, who had just finished his cultivation, looked up outside his room; he heard the sound of dogs barking outside.

When he walked out, Xu Qing saw a strange scene: the Thunder Team leader was packing things, tying large and small bundles onto the wild dogs, causing those wild dogs to stick out their tongues, and a few were almost pressed to the ground.

"Finished cultivating? Let's go, I'll take you to a place."

The Thunder Team leader wiped his sweat, smiled, then patted a wild dog beside him, opened the bamboo door, and beckoned to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing was puzzled and followed. Those wild dogs also followed behind one after another. Just like that, two people and a pack of dogs moved forward in the camp.

From the middle ring to the inner ring area, there were many shops here, and the houses were mostly brick and tile, looking very sturdy.

Until they arrived in front of a large courtyard, which contained four independent brick and tile houses, each one much better than where Xu Qing had lived before, sturdier and more airtight.

Looking at this, Xu Qing turned to look at the Thunder Team leader.

"From now on, this is our new home," the Thunder Team leader said with a smile.

"New home?" Xu Qing was stunned. The word "home" gave him a sense of familiar strangeness.

"I've been busy for most of my life and have quite a few savings. Now that my body isn't what it used to be, I might as well change to a big house and enjoy myself."

The Thunder Team leader laughed, walked in first, took the bundles off the wild dogs, and began to get busy.

Xu Qing stood there, and after a long while, he slowly walked in. Looking at the blue bricks on the ground and the houses in front of him, he felt a bit dazed, and even when he was called by the Thunder Team leader to help, he still felt a bit unaccustomed.

After half a day of busyness, when night arrived once more, the cold wind outside persisted and the snow continued to fall; amidst the rising and falling wails of the wind, Xu Qing and Lei Ting sat by the stove in the room, the heat rushing toward their faces, a sense of warmth permeating the entire room.

There were no gaps in the walls here, and the icy wind could not drill in at all; Xu Qing quickly noticed this and felt his body growing warm.

"Not cold anymore, right?" Lei Ting said with a smile.

"Mm, not cold anymore." Xu Qing nodded, and as he looked at Lei Ting, a glimmer of light seemed to appear in Xu Qing's eyes, reflected by the stove.

He was indeed no longer cold; in this warmth, Xu Qing even felt a tremor deep within his heart.

After a long, long time, when Lei Ting left and returned to his room, Xu Qing approached the stove alone and murmured softly.

"Home?"

At this moment, in the room to the side, Lei Ting, having returned to his room, still had a lingering smile on his face, but soon his complexion became somewhat flushed.

He covered his mouth and coughed a few times, then after a while, he forcefully swallowed the salty, metallic taste in his mouth, stood by the window with a light sigh, looked up toward the direction of the forbidden zone, and murmured softly with memories in his eyes.

"I really want to... go take one more look."

I don't know if everyone likes these two chapters; I personally like them very much. Both slaughter and tenderness need to exist to unfold the scroll together; if either side is unbalanced, the story will lose some of its flavor.